Lakewood Village President Sends Winter Newsletter

The winter letter from Lakewood Village President Erin Smith:

From the President

Dear Neighbors:

On behalf of the Board of Trustees, we want to extend our very best wishes for a joyous holiday season to each of you and your families.

Also on behalf of the Board of Trustees, I want to thank each of the residents who took the time to express their opinions about each of the issues highlighted in the last newsletter – the potential sale of RedTail Golf Club and the construction of additional sanitary sewer on the East Side so that it can be treated at our wastewater treatment plant on Haligus Road. We always appreciate the input of our residents.

RedTail Golf Club

Lakewood Treasurer CPA George Roach presented the number rounds and gross income.

Lakewood Treasurer CPA George Roach presented the number rounds and gross income.

Acknowledging the ongoing challenges in the golf industry, however, a group of residents is meeting informally to develop a formal business plan.

The plan will have three primary components:

  1. strategies for increasing average revenue per round
  2. strategies for decreasing costs
  3. creation of a plan for funding capital repairs and improvements

Thank you to Trustee Gene Furey for leading this effort.  Please contact him directly if you have any thoughts regarding this project.

East Side Sanitary Sewer System

The Board of Trustees has engaged the engineering services of Strand Associates to design the new sanitary sewer main that will allow treatment to occur at our wastewater treatment plant on Haligus Road.

The eastern part of Lakewood (mainly Country Club Additions) where Crystal Lake proposes to increase sewage treatment rates by enough to make it economically feasible to sent its sewage to Lakewood's plant.

The eastern part of Lakewood (mainly Country Club Additions) where Crystal Lake proposes to increase sewage treatment rates by enough to make it economically feasible to sent its sewage to Lakewood’s plant.

The preliminary design is expected to be completed in late January, and the plans will be made available for viewing at Village Hall. The plans will then have to be approved by the Illinois Environmental Agency (IEPA), and this process may take several months.

Our goal is to have the project ready to bid by summer.

Adult Autism Group Home

In November, the home at 455 Huntley Road was sold to the Pioneer Center for Human Services to be used as a group home for several young adults with autism. In terms of our Municipal Code, a Special Use is not required because less than five persons will be living in the home. The background of the project is inspiring.

For the past eight years, a group of three children have lived with each other in a group home for children with autism run by Pioneer Center for Human Services. This home is located in Cary, Illinois.

Now the children are young adults and, knowing that these young adults have grown as a family unit, Pioneer Center set a goal to find a new house to become its Adult Autism Group Home.

This search reached its completion with the purchase of a beautiful home at 455 Huntley Road.

I hope you will join me in welcoming our newest residents to the community.

Stormwater Improvements

I am pleased to report that progress has been made on a number of initiatives on the East Side to address stormwater issues. We just completed the bid process for the project to make repairs to the Broadway Storm Sewer Outfall.

The low bid was extremely competitive, which will allow us to complete all of the improvements that have been identified to date. The cost of this project, including engineering and repairs, is approximately $250,000 and comes from the General Fund.

While additional work is needed, especially clearing tree roots from the pipe and televising, these repairs represent a significant step forward in improving stormwater management in this neighborhood.

In addition, nine homeowners have taken advantage of the opportunity to meet individually with our Stormwater Engineer and learn about improvements to their specific properties.

And six residents have utilized our cost sharing program to install back flow devices in their homes to help prevent future sewage back ups.

It is not too late to participate in either of these programs, and I strongly encourage you to do so.

Finally, we have engaged the services of Baxter & Woodman to conduct a study to determine the feasibility of providing additional storage capacity for stormwater during heavy rain events.

Specific areas being studied include:

  • the “triangle” at Lake Avenue and Huntley Road
  • the bike path along the former Country Club Road (also known as “Pencil Park”)
  • the Broadway median

A grant request has also recently been submitted to the state of Illinois that would help fund green infrastructure to address stormwater.

Roadway Improvements

The Board of Trustees recently approved an agreement to design the roadway improvements for the coming year. Per our Ten Year Capital Program, significant roadway work will be done every other year in order to secure better per unit prices. The agreement proposes the following improvements:

  • Inverway Drive from Turnberry Trail to Stuart Lane
  • Stuart Lane from Inverway Drive to its terminus
  • South Shore Drive from Sunset Drive to Richmond Lane
  • Sunset Drive from Lake Avenue to South Shore Drive
  • Richmond Lane from Broadway Avenue to South Shore Drive
Erin Smith

Erin Smith

If competitive bids are secured, additional work along South Shore Drive will be added. In addition, the final lift of pavement will be completed in the Autumn Ridge Subdivision (paid for with the developer’s Letter of Credit) and bids will be secured for the parking lot at RedTail Golf Club.

Staff is to be commended for moving these important projects forward in the absence of a Public Works Director. As always, I encourage you to contact me or any of our officials with questions regarding any of the projects highlighted in the newsletter or that you might read about elsewhere.

Sincerely,

Erin Smith, President

Village of Lakewood


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